There are some strong bros in Texas, this RAW fed should bring some of them out of the woodwork. i know a lot of guys are getting fed up with all the equipment meets and are looking forward to some RAW meets.

Tiny's gym alone has many 400-500 pound benchers in the 220's-242's, but most of them are on the juice. i do know a guy who presses 515 drug free in the 242's, so i hope he doesn't cut weight!

Just like Wicked, i'm "drug-free" and i plan to stay that way for a long time. it's been about a year since i used anything.

Goudy - Chins have always been a strong point for me, but you kill me on dips. my shoulders cannot handle dips for some reason, so i haven't even tried them in years, i should though.

PANDA - I'm happy with the 545 pull, that is the most i have done since surgery and that means a ton to my confidence level. i'm sure 585 will be reached by winter!

Wicked! - i'm up to 236, so i will have to cut some weight as well, my bench numbers suffer the most when i cut weight, but my dead usually stays about the same. work and family life has been crazy, but i will go over the CATS stuff with you one day!...lol

Squats tonight! going to try 405 for a few reps! Knee feels great, so nothing will hold me back.

Hey, just wanted to pop in and thank you again for the help with my bench, everything's been going pretty phenomenal for 5 weeks in on the CATS program. And, on the plus side, you're pretty much responsible for me getting out of my "Flex magazine workout" rut and learning more about powerlifting and olympic lifting. If nothing else training is actually getting fun again for me.

Hey, just wanted to pop in and thank you again for the help with my bench, everything's been going pretty phenomenal for 5 weeks in on the CATS program. And, on the plus side, you're pretty much responsible for me getting out of my "Flex magazine workout" rut and learning more about powerlifting and olympic lifting. If nothing else training is actually getting fun again for me.

Hey OL, my lower back has felt very weak lately, and it really affects my squats and deadlifts, and some other lifts. It hurts a little bit, but it really just feels like it can't handle the pressure of those lifts when i want to go heavy. should i intentionally go light for the next few weeks and see if it gets better, or should i stop those movements altogether for a little while?

Hey OL, my lower back has felt very weak lately, and it really affects my squats and deadlifts, and some other lifts. It hurts a little bit, but it really just feels like it can't handle the pressure of those lifts when i want to go heavy. should i intentionally go light for the next few weeks and see if it gets better, or should i stop those movements altogether for a little while?

Many things come into play, frequence of lifting and of course recovery all together.

One thing that helps my lower back is doing some good mornings after squats, i do 3 sets of 5 reps and i use about 50% of my squat max for the GM's.

If you are having back pain, i would take some time off any squating/deadlifting for a week or two and then come back light for a few weeks.

if you are like me, then squating heavy and deadlfting heavy in the same week is impossible. if i go heavy on squats, then my next dead lift workout is dynamic and based on speed. likewise, if my squat workout is light(speed), then my deadlifting that week will be ME and all singles. i keep squats and deads about 4 days apart and i could never make gains doing them on the same day.

Many things come into play, frequence of lifting and of course recovery all together.

One thing that helps my lower back is doing some good mornings after squats, i do 3 sets of 5 reps and i use about 50% of my squat max for the GM's.

If you are having back pain, i would take some time off any squating/deadlifting for a week or two and then come back light for a few weeks.

if you are like me, then squating heavy and deadlfting heavy in the same week is impossible. if i go heavy on squats, then my next dead lift workout is dynamic and based on speed. likewise, if my squat workout is light(speed), then my deadlifting that week will be ME and all singles. i keep squats and deads about 4 days apart and i could never make gains doing them on the same day.

I'm not sure how your program is structured anymore, so let me know what split you are currently doing.

I actually took a week off of lifting completely last week, so I don't know why the lower back problem hit me this week. I don't remember injuring myself. But I think I'll take a week off of squats/deadlifts, and then start out light and get back into it.

Sorry about your injury My boyfriend Sean was hospitalized five weeks ago with a bad colon infection (he has diverticulitis). He lost 10 pounds and ... well ... whined about it a lot I told him, baby, be glad you didn't tear something again.

That cheered him up

On the subject of my bf, I'm curious: have you ever considered trying Dante Trudell's program? I know it's not a strength qua strength set-up, but Sean gets very good strength gains from it. It doesn't exactly permit for moving down in reps week by week like some powerlifting cycles, but "Dogcrap" does permit some low-rep sets of squats, deadlifts and rack deadlifts. In that respect it's not too unlike some powerlifters' training.

I digress ... sorry I only mentioned this because I think you might enjoy Dante's stuff. I have talked to him a few times and he is very sweet. He especially likes lifters who are already very strong and have plenty of experience under their belts (read: like you!).

Sorry about your injury My boyfriend Sean was hospitalized five weeks ago with a bad colon infection (he has diverticulitis). He lost 10 pounds and ... well ... whined about it a lot I told him, baby, be glad you didn't tear something again.

That cheered him up

On the subject of my bf, I'm curious: have you ever considered trying Dante Trudell's program? I know it's not a strength qua strength set-up, but Sean gets very good strength gains from it. It doesn't exactly permit for moving down in reps week by week like some powerlifting cycles, but "Dogcrap" does permit some low-rep sets of squats, deadlifts and rack deadlifts. In that respect it's not too unlike some powerlifters' training.

I digress ... sorry I only mentioned this because I think you might enjoy Dante's stuff. I have talked to him a few times and he is very sweet. He especially likes lifters who are already very strong and have plenty of experience under their belts (read: like you!).

DC training is good stuff, i've always liked the way Dante went about his program. i've tried it word for word a few times and got burned out every time. rest/pause work seems to tax me a lot more than most routines, and i respond best to low volume. i did make gains, but i seemed to need to deload or cruise a lot more than he recommends.

If i got the chance to actually work with Dante, i would give the program a shot, as i feel it can benefit almost anyone when done correctly.

Hurricane Ike kept me out of the gym for 3 weeks, due to helping family members sort out their damaged homes and coordinating with insurance companies.

I've been busting ass to get back up to 100% ASAP.

I need to get my ass in gear if i'm going to lift toe to toe with Wicked next spring! He has about 100 pounds on me in the dead lift, but i should hold my own in the bench press.

This is assuming Wicked can make it under 220.5 pounds...

I did finally squat 405 for 3 and pull 545 for a solid single. Benching has taken a hit due to injury, but i should be back to normal in a few weeks hopefully.

BW - 233

haha we need to decide on the meet type, fed, and location.. maybe you should meet me half way at 242's LOL!

we both know you'll smoke my ass in the bench.. so if I can make up for that and then some in the pull we might have a little back and forth going on HAHA. Your pull is coming up fast.. I'm thinking I'll have to put up at least a 100lbs over your best deadlift to make give it a chance for what you bench.